Master-class win for Marquez at Brno with Pedrosa second to complete a Repsol Honda Team 1-2

Marc Marquez took a back-to-back victory at Brno today in challenging mixed conditions, his third this year and the 58th in his career, extending his championship lead to 14 points over his closest follower.

It was the fifth flag-to-flag race that Marc has perfectly mastered thanks to a mix of tactics, determination, and teamwork (Assen 2014, Misano 2015, Argentina and Sachsenring 2016, Brno 2017). On this occasion the Spaniard found himself struggling soon after the lights went off, having fit a soft rain rear tyre that he wasn’t at ease with on a drying track. He therefore decided to change bikes quite soon and entered the pit on lap two, where his team was ready with his second bike fitted with slick tyres. That allowed him to pull a great gap on his opponents, which he managed until the chequered flag.

To complete the excellent day of the Repsol Honda Team, Dani Pedrosa achieved a strong second place, bringing his career podium tally to 150 (and his MotoGP podium tally to 109, one more than Jorge Lorenzo). Dani switched to his second bike on lap four and re-entered the race in eighth position. He immediately started riding at a very fast pace, fighting his way forward to second and setting the fastest lap of the race along the way.

Marc and Dani were happy to have been able to honour the “Maestro” Angel Nieto, 12+1 World Champion, with their great performance. Nieto passed away on Thursday.

Tomorrow the Repsol Honda Team will remain at Brno for a one-day test before heading to the Red Bull Ring for the next Sunday’s Austrian GP.

Marc Marquez

1st

“This was a very special Sunday because everyone was racing for Angel Nieto, but it was also a very challenging race. On the grid, I took the risk to use the soft rear tyre because I thought it would give me extra grip for five laps before pitting to change bikes, but it didn’t go like that. I soon started to struggle a lot and lost many positions. When I saw that, I decided to immediately get in and take the risk of the slicks. When I re-joined the race, honestly it was still too damp in some parts and I nearly crashed during the first lap out. When you go out for the flag-to-flag, it’s so difficult to get the feeling with the bike again, but I tried to quickly understand the grip. Honestly, today I took some risks but it was one of those days when you just have to do it. After pulling a great gap, I just tried to manage, to ride well, and to finish the race. I’m really very happy with the result. It’s a track I normally struggle at, one I worry about every year, and getting 25 points was very important. Thanks to the team for another great job! We did the correct strategy during the summer break, coming here to test, and we arrived here prepared. We’re improving step by step. The Championship is still very, very tight; we must be able to be fast in every condition.”

Dani Pedrosa

2nd

“This weekend we were competitive in all situations, yesterday in qualifying and today, with this podium. I’m really very happy with the performances and with how I felt on the bike. I’m generally feeling stronger than in the first part of the season. We must improve some details—today it was knowing the right lap to stop on, but we’ll learn from it. Normally, when it’s still a bit wet and you have to switch to slicks you must be super focused and super committed. This is usually a strong point for Marc, as he’s always very good in these conditions; we have to be able to keep the same concentration in the future because these details are very important. Anyway, thanks to the team and to Michelin for the amazing feeling I had on the bike. We lost five points to Marc on top but we recovered some on our other rivals. I think the strategy of the team to come test during the summer break was right, as it was good to have the bike setting, especially at this track. We also improved on some little details of the bike and now I feel more comfortable going into the second part of the season. Now we have to not focus too much on the Championship and just concentrate and perform well at every race.”

MotoGP 2017Sunday, August 6th 2017

Race
Round 10
Grand Prix České RepublikyCzech Republic

Results Session

Mixed Conditions

Humidity

70%

Track Temp

24°C

Air Temp

21°C

Pos.

Rider

Num

Nation

Points

Team

Constructor

Time/Gap

1

Marquez Marc

93

SPA

25

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

44'15.974

2

Pedrosa Dani

26

SPA

20

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

12.438

3

Vinales Maverick

25

SPA

16

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

18.135

4

Rossi Valentino

46

ITA

13

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

20.466

5

Crutchlow Cal

35

GBR

11

Honda

20.892

6

Dovizioso Andrea

04

ITA

10

Ducati Team

Ducati

23.259

7

Petrucci Danilo

9

ITA

9

Octo Pramac Racing

Ducati

24.079

8

Espargaro Aleix

41

SPA

8

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

30.559

9

Espargaro Pol

44

SPA

7

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

30.754

10

Folger Jonas

94

GER

6

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Yamaha

33.236

11

Rins Alex

42

SPA

5

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

33.290

12

Zarco Johann

5

FRA

4

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Yamaha

34.595

13

Abraham Karel

17

CZE

3

Pull&Bear Aspar Team

Ducati

34.697

14

Miller Jack

43

AUS

2

Marc VDS Racing Team

Honda

38.062

15

Lorenzo Jorge

99

SPA

1

Ducati Team

Ducati

40.100

16

Redding Scott

45

GBR

0

Octo Pramac Racing

Ducati

44.376

17

Rabat Tito

53

SPA

0

Marc VDS Racing Team

Honda

45.454

18

Lowes Sam

22

GBR

0

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

53.976

19

Iannone Andrea

29

ITA

0

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

1'23.346

20

Barbera Hector

8

SPA

0

Reale Avintia Racing

Ducati

1 lap

21

Barbera Hector

8

SPA

0

Reale Avintia Racing

Ducati

2 laps

22

Baz Loris

76

FRA

0

Reale Avintia Racing

Ducati

7 laps

23

Bautista Alvaro

19

SPA

0

Pull&Bear Aspar Team

Ducati

10 laps

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Gallery

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Location Information

The world’s most famous riders have taken part in GP events in Brno since 1930, where up until 1982 they would race through the villages and western parts of the city on a road track named after the first Czechoslovak President – T.G. Masaryk. The only venue that has hosted… read more.

Location Information

The world’s most famous riders have taken part in GP events in Brno since 1930, where up until 1982 they would race through the villages and western parts of the city on a road track named after the first Czechoslovak President – T.G. Masaryk. The only venue that has hosted… read more.